Becoming a Sailor

Becoming a Sailor

More Than a Decade Afloat • Raising Sailors • Stories from SV Aphrodite

Menu Skip to content
  • About the Crew
  • About Our Boat
  • Family Dictionary: Life Afloat A to Z
  • Subscribe
  • Search

Category: Preparing for Cruising Life

Preparing for Cruising Life begins right from the start when we thought about buying a boat, and living afloat seemed like a dream. This category describes the moving parts we lashed together to pack up our house, learn to sail, shop for a bluewater catamaran, refit our St Francis 50, and launch our family circumnavigation adventure.

Photo of Escher kids on SV Aphrodite on the Ultraleather saloon cushions after slightly less than two years of use.
November 23, 2025November 23, 2025Lorraine Escher

Succumbing to the Sales Pitch of Ultraleather on a Boat

A photo of our kids running along the beach of Lake Superior with a banner of our tent and van with the text The Road Trip that Changed Everything, referring to the 60 day camping trip we took the summer before we bought our St. Francis 50 catamaran, SV Aphrodite.
January 1, 2024January 1, 2024Lorraine Escher

Why We Want to Sail

June 12, 2023June 12, 2023Lorraine Escher

Making Sense of Malaria: Why Chemoprophylaxis Doesn’t Prevent Infection — It Only Weakens the Symptoms

November 1, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Betty, Age 10, Gets Her Very First Pair of Glasses

September 3, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Cruising, Culture Shock and Questioning “Why?”

June 28, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Aphrodite: a year in review

May 25, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Departure checklist for leaving an anchorage

A composite image that includes four checklists I created after moving from a house to a sailboat as a family of six from Canada.
December 28, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Checklists for the BIG move: moving from house to boat

December 15, 2015July 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Our Offshore Medical Kit: A Complete Breakdown

December 10, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Medical insurance while cruising

Posts navigation

1 2 … 11 →

Word of the Hour

Yellow House New word in …

Yellow House

This Week in Years Past

  • 10 years ago this weekFrom the Vault: Cycling 1,000 miles Along the US Pacific Coast — with a Parrot
  • 10 years ago this weekBeans! Beans! Beans! Abandoning Meat in the Dominican Republic
  • 11 years ago this weekStress-free camping? Not here.
  • 11 years ago this weekA visit from CBC Radio’s Stu Mills

Worth Reading

Managing Food Allergies at Sea
Checklist for the Big Move

From the Archives

  • Boat Projects
  • Homeschooling Four Kids
  • Early Years of Cruising
Subscribe